Monday, November 23, 2009

Les Instantanes by Julien Marie at Wood Street Galleries PA

The Berlin-based French artist who experiments with various forms of projection debuts in the U.S.A with "Matter and Memory" (through Dec 2009) at The Wood Street Galleries in Pittsburgh. I was fortunate to be able to witness two floors of his works. Completely taken by the artist's innovation with steel micro-balls acting as a material in slow motion (but in reality); indescribably moved by his ablility to empower the exhibit participant who moves blank paper pieces on a table to reconstruct a forgotten image through a projection.

Particularly relevant to this blog is the drama and ingenunity of "Les Instantanes". Kurt Shaw, art critic with the Tribune describes the work :"Filling the entire third-floor gallery, it seems at first glance to be a simple, three-part sequence of slide projections of images of droplets of water in reverse. But upon further inspection, the viewer likely will notice, when looking at the exposed mechanics of each projector, that each contains tiny glass sculptures on a constantly spinning wheel. Maire actually made these 1:1-scale glass reproductions, in which each drop of water seemingly falls and jumps back up out of a surface. In effect, Maire has created a different kind of cinema -- creating sequenced images representing tiny, fleeting moments, out of something that is very tangible and real."

My own experience of the work was a simple sigh of admiration and sheer joy at witnessing the precious construction of a moment.

About Us

yuka + anjali is a curatorial team interested in the latent connections between glass and alternate / new media. Since 2008, we have been working towards exhibition and publication of guerilla interventions in glass practice, and the consequent re-definitions.

NEWS!

The Post-Glass Video Festival, featuring 20 works by various artists, opens at Heller Gallery on Sep 10, 2010.The exhibition travels thereafter. Seattle, Sydney...Please contact us with suggestions if you would like to see the show in your area.